02.22.16

A double tax agreement (DTA) between the Seychelles and Singapore became effective on January 1, 2016, establishing a beneficial framework to encourage cross-border investment and trade.

The agreement entered into force on December 18, 2015, after being signed in July 2014. The documents provides, on certain conditions, that cross-border dividends income will be exempt from tax at source.

It also caps tax on interest income in the source country at 12%, providing that the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest income and resident in the other contracting state. In some circumstances interest income will exempt from tax at source. Withholding tax on royalties income at source will be capped at 8% or such income will be exempt.

According to the treaty’s provisions on the creation of a permanent establishment, a building site, a construction, assembly, or installation project; or supervisory activities in connection therewith will be deemed to be a permanent establishment if the project or activities last more than 12 months.

02.15.16

The armies of Seychelles and India will hold a 7th joint military training exercise from February 15 to 28. The exercise between the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) and the Indian Army will be conducted at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA) in Victoria.

According to the statement, the SPDF will be represented by 20 personnel from a Special Forces unit and 32 from Seychelles Infantry, and the Indian contingent will comprise of an Infantry platoon and representatives from the Special Forces.

India and Seychelles have been conducting joint exercises since 2001 to enhance military cooperation and interoperability between the two jurisdictions.

02.05.16

The American actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an increasingly active environmentalist, is donating USD 1 million to the Seychelles for the island nation’s climate change adaption fund.

The money is the first installment of a USD 5 million grant that several organizations will be giving the small island state in February that will be used to help with biotechnology and the fisheries industry.

The Seychelles minister for environment, Didier Dogley, told SNA the government is also receiving assistance from the U.S. environmental organization The Nature Conservancy.

He said: “A number of them together with Leonardo DiCaprio have agreed to give Seychelles $5 million. This year in Davos he revealed the fact that he had pledged USD 1 million to help Seychelles”.

In January, DiCaprio spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said that the project he is backing in Seychelles, a collection of 115 islands that depends on the ocean to attract tourists and for the fishing industry. “And in our seas, we have partnered with Google and funded the Global Fishing Watch, which is a revolutionary new platform that will actively monitor and ultimately help end the destructive practices of over-fishing,” DiCaprio said. Additionally, they are backing an effort to protect the size of Nebraska in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Seychelles islands, which is home to vital marine species.